Published September 6, 2026
Human Growth and Development for the NCE: Erikson, Piaget, Kohlberg, and the Rest of the Roster
By David Zimmerman · 9 min read · Clinical content
Human growth and development is 29 topics in the NCE library and one of the areas where the exam is purely recall: name the stage, name the theorist, name the concept from a one-sentence sketch[1]. The good news is that the same dozen names carry almost every item. This post is the stage tables for Erikson[2], Piaget[3], and Kohlberg[4], the rest of the roster in one table, a sorter for the three stage theorists, and an eight-item quiz. Attachment follows Bowlby and Ainsworth[5].
The three stage theories
| Erikson (psychosocial) | Age | Virtue |
|---|---|---|
| Trust vs. mistrust | Infancy (0–1) | Hope |
| Autonomy vs. shame and doubt | Early childhood (1–3) | Will |
| Initiative vs. guilt | Preschool (3–6) | Purpose |
| Industry vs. inferiority | School age (6–12) | Competence |
| Identity vs. role confusion | Adolescence (12–18) | Fidelity |
| Intimacy vs. isolation | Young adulthood | Love |
| Generativity vs. stagnation | Middle adulthood | Care |
| Integrity vs. despair | Late adulthood | Wisdom |
| Piaget (cognitive) | Age | Hallmarks |
|---|---|---|
| Sensorimotor | 0–2 | Object permanence; deferred imitation by the end |
| Preoperational | 2–7 | Symbolic play, language; egocentrism, animism, centration; no conservation |
| Concrete operational | 7–11 | Conservation, reversibility, classification, seriation; logic about concrete things |
| Formal operational | 11+ | Abstract and hypothetical-deductive reasoning; adolescent egocentrism (imaginary audience, personal fable — Elkind) |
| Kohlberg (moral) | Level | Stage |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Obedience and punishment | Preconventional | Avoid punishment |
| 2. Instrumental exchange | Preconventional | "What's in it for me"; fair trades |
| 3. Interpersonal conformity | Conventional | Good boy / nice girl; approval |
| 4. Law and order | Conventional | Uphold rules and social order |
| 5. Social contract | Postconventional | Laws serve people; can be changed |
| 6. Universal ethical principles | Postconventional | Self-chosen principles; conscience |
Sort the concept to its theorist
Erikson, Piaget, or Kohlberg?
Tap an item, then tap the bucket it belongs to. Tap a placed item to send it back.
Items (13 left)
Erikson
Piaget
Kohlberg
The rest of the roster
| Theorist | Owns the words |
|---|---|
| Freud (psychosexual) | Oral, anal, phallic (Oedipus/Electra), latency, genital; fixation; id/ego/superego; defense mechanisms |
| Vygotsky | Zone of proximal development, scaffolding, private speech; sociocultural learning |
| Bandura | Observational learning, modeling, self-efficacy, reciprocal determinism (Bobo doll) |
| Bowlby / Ainsworth | Attachment; internal working model; Strange Situation: secure, avoidant, ambivalent/resistant, disorganized (Main) |
| Gilligan | Ethic of care; critique of Kohlberg; stages of care orientation |
| Havighurst | Developmental tasks by life period |
| Levinson | Seasons of life; eras and transitions; midlife transition |
| Maslow | Hierarchy of needs; self-actualization; deficiency vs. growth needs |
| Bronfenbrenner | Ecological systems: micro, meso, exo, macro, chrono |
| Elkind | Adolescent egocentrism: imaginary audience, personal fable |
| Perry | Intellectual development in college: dualism → multiplicity → relativism → commitment |
| Fowler | Stages of faith development |
| Kübler-Ross | Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance (non-linear) |
| Marcia | Identity statuses: diffusion, foreclosure, moratorium, achievement |
Two traps
29 development topics with cheat sheets and questions
Erikson's psychosocial stages is the free sample topic; the other 28 are in the library from $19/month.
Name the stage
Interactive
Human growth and development on the NCE
A toddler insists on "doing it myself" and has tantrums when helped. Erikson would locate this in:
Related
- NCE study guide by CACREP area
- NCE domain map and study plan
- Child and adolescent presentations, the clinical side of the same ages.
Sources
- NBCC — National Counselor Examination (NCE) overview, candidate handbook, and content outline
- Erikson, E. H. (1963). Childhood and Society (2nd ed.). W. W. Norton.
- Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1969). The Psychology of the Child. Basic Books.
- Kohlberg, L. (1984). The Psychology of Moral Development: The Nature and Validity of Moral Stages. Harper & Row.
- Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and Loss, Vol. 1: Attachment. Basic Books.
Frequently asked questions
What are Erikson's eight stages?
Trust vs. mistrust, autonomy vs. shame and doubt, initiative vs. guilt, industry vs. inferiority, identity vs. role confusion, intimacy vs. isolation, generativity vs. stagnation, integrity vs. despair.
What is the difference between assimilation and accommodation?
Piaget: assimilation fits new information into an existing schema; accommodation changes the schema to fit the information. Together they drive adaptation and equilibration.
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